


Detroit: Within Soma - Personal Space

by LaffeeTaffee



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Brainstorming for novel, Dialogue, Drama, F/M, Kate is only slightly annoyed, Kate says no at the end, One-Shot, Simon having feelings, Simon pre-deviant, Teaser for Detroit Within Soma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23211382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaffeeTaffee/pseuds/LaffeeTaffee
Summary: Writing involves a lot of procrastination. It can take hours to warm up before the keys start tapping. So when Kate asks for Simon's opinion, the conversation steers towards the topic of personal space. It's not in Simon's programming to understand what that is, or what it means when someone invades it. But when Kate demonstrates it for him, he finds himself reacting in an unexpected way.
Relationships: Simon (Detroit: Become Human)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	Detroit: Within Soma - Personal Space

“It’s not just a cultural thing,” said Kate. She spun her chair back and forth slightly with her legs resting on her desk. “It’s just… I don’t know. Everyone knows about it.”

Simon stared at the floor, performing a quick search through CyberLife interactive protocols. “I understand that humans can become nervous under those circumstances,” he said. “Like animals, it can trigger a fight or flight response.”

“No, Simon…” Kate dropped her legs to the floor and leaned forward, her brown hair falling in her face. “You’re still not getting it. It’s not an animal instinct or anything.” She raised her head, brushing her tangled brown hair away. “It’s a human instinct. Strictly human.”

Simon tilted his head to one side. He quickly did another database scan. “Can you describe it to me?”

Kate made a noise that he could interpret as either frustration or exasperation. She slouched back in her chair, gesturing with her hands. “It’s… I don’t know. It depends on how you use it, I guess.”

“For example?”

“For example…” She made the noise again, and Simon looked carefully at her to make sure she wasn’t getting irritated. She straightened and ran a hand through her tangled hair. “Stand up.”

Simon stood up from the sofa, and Kate stood as well. She looked at him, and he could sense a slight tension in her posture. “Think of it this way,” she said. “Your space is your vulnerability. And you can use it like a tool to gain power over someone. I can take it, I can ask for it, or I can use my vulnerability to make you do something. So for instance, if I take it─” She moved forward suddenly, and Simon found himself inches from her face, her hazel eyes lit with brilliant energy. “I didn’t ask for it. You didn’t offer it to me. I just took it.” She shifted slightly from foot to foot, and Simon felt that familiar pang of uncomfortable energy flow through him. He fought the urge to step back and instead continued to hold eye contact.

“Let me tell you what you should feel,” said Kate. “You should feel violated. Disrespected. Ashamed. Because I took your vulnerability without asking.” She moved back, her gaze softening. Simon felt his body relax, unaware that he had even been so tense. Kate scratched the back of her head. “Which is kind of why guys do that when they want to fight, I guess,” she continued. “It’s like a challenge. They can either fight to get their space back, or give way to the other person’s space, which makes the other person’s space more important than theirs.”

Simon took note of her words, organizing it into a protocol that he could upload to CyberLife. It seemed to corroborate with what CyberLife already had in its social database, although it was in much greater detail.

“Or…”

He looked up as Kate moved toward him again, but this time he felt a strange electric sensation. She avoided his gaze, stepping so close that her hair nearly brushed his nose. When she raised her head, her eyes were gentle and yet energized at the same time.

“I can give you my space,” she said, the soft tone of her voice feeding the electric sensation. Simon studied her carefully, shockingly aware of how close she was to him. It invoked a programmed response in him, prodding the back of his mind as if to remind him what to do, but he found himself ignoring it without knowing why.

“I can give you my space,” Kate repeated, and Simon could see in greater clarity the motion of her mouth, the intricate colors of her eyes, and how her expression affected every aspect of her face. “And I can ask for yours. A kind of suggestion.” Her eyes flicked downward slightly, and he was suddenly conscious of the fact that she was observing him in the same way. “This can go one of two ways,” she said. “Either one of us takes our space back, which means no. Or…” She tilted her head to one side, a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “Or you agree to give me your space.”

Simon continued to hold her gaze, the program gnawing at him. “What happens in this case?”

Kate’s eyes flashed momentarily. She lightly bit her lower lip as if contemplating something, and the motion sent a strange cascade of what Simon could only describe as nervous energy. The program vanished from his mind completely, all his attention focused on this moment. He watched the slight tensing of her mouth. The way her eyes narrowed as she studied him. It was as if he were seeing her for the first time.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Then Kate stepped backwards, her hair falling partially over her face as she looked at the ground.

Simon relaxed his shoulders, the tension leaving him in a way that was very different than before. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at her. “Did that mean no?” he said.

She ran a hand through her hair again, revealing a strange smile that he could not interpret. “Yeah, Simon.” She eased back into the desk chair, leaning back and looking off towards the wall. “That meant no.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a short piece I wrote when I was first testing the waters of Detroit: Within Soma. I wanted to see a moment between Kate and Simon that was tangible to what I wanted their relationship to be before Simon became a deviant. It's a harmless conversation on the surface but there's things brewing on either side, which is exactly what I wanted from them.
> 
> I honestly never thought the story would get this far. It seems forever ago that I was sitting at the breakfast counter while my mom's eggs cooked on the stove, watching Christopher Odd's let's play on YouTube and thinking to myself "this android clearly has one hell of a backstory... someone should write it." This story was my escape from reality. I had sunk to the lowest point of my life and was taking care of my mom during her final months battling cancer, and every day was a matter of life and death. There were periods of intense frenzy and periods of total stasis. When I could, I'd shut my eyes and drift into Simon's story as a way to leave my own story behind. I guess if I was watching someone else go through a roller coaster of an existence, it made my own seem a little less insane.
> 
> I'll be uploading a few one-shots like this as the story goes on. I'm running into a little bit of writer's block but I'm hoping to get the brain juices flowing again after some exercise and yard work.
> 
> Click the link if you want to read the full version of Detroit: Within Soma  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/22379089


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